Shopping designer bags like Chanel, Louis Vuitton or Hermes at Airports are usually the cheapest. It’s far better than shopping at the retail stores in the cities. However, shopping at Airports has pro’s and con’s of course.
Pro’s for buying at Airports:
- It’s faster, because you don’t need to process tax-refund
- It’s cheaper, because there are no extra costs involved
- it’s convenient, because you are already flying back home
Con’s for buying at Airports
- The stock at airports can be limited
- You need more time to shop and find the boutique
- You might not find what you want
Airports Per Country
AIRPORTS IN EUROPE
AIRPORTS IN AMERICA
| San Francisco Int. Airport (US) | Los Angeles Airport (US) | Honolulu Airport (US) |
| John F. Kennedy Airport (US) | Vancouver Airport (Canada) |
AIRPORTS IN ASIA OTHERS
Duty-free at Airport or Tax-refund, which is better?
Tax on goods is called VAT in Europe and in Singapore/Australia, it’s called GST. VAT and GST are the same and you can apply for tax-refund if you’re a visitor of that country.
To apply for tax-refund, there are costs like administration fee’s or commissions. These costs are deducted from your total tax-refund.
But if you manage to find the same products at the Duty-Free area of the Airport. Then you can purchase these products without tax added. Therefore, you don’t need to apply for tax-refund and this can save you the extra money.
If you want to know how to apply for tax-refund, it depends on the country. You can read more here: Ultimate Guide To Tax-Refund.
Personal Shopper at Airport?
Sometimes an airport will go for the extra mile to service their customer. Some airports provide Personal Shopper to guide you and help you go from terminal to terminal to shop at exclusive high fashion stores. One of the airports that provide this service is Heathrow.
Some boutiques you can call and they will tell you about their current stock. Sometimes you can even reserve the bag. And some SA even delivers the bag to your terminal. It all depends on the brand and their policy. But it never hurts to make a phone call, right?
Read more details about Personal Shopper at Heathrow Airport: Chanel Heathrow Airport Shopping Guide